The UKAIS Early Career Researcher grant is designed to support early career researchers in developing their independent research profiles, building collaborative networks, and generating high-quality outputs that benefit scholarly knowledge, practice, policy, and the wider Information Systems (IS) community.

The Early Career Researcher grant provides flexible funding that can be used to initiate new projects, extend existing studies, or undertake pilot work that may lead to larger external funding applications. It aims to create opportunities for early career researchers to progress their ideas, showcase their work to the UKAIS community, and contribute to debates that matter for organisations, society, and the IS discipline.

The purpose of the Early Career Researcher grant is to support UKAIS members with their research projects. Grants of up to £2,000 per proposal are available on a merit-based system, with half of the sum issued upon the awarding of the grant, and half upon completion of the project. Grant holders will be expected to present their work either at the UKAIS 2027 conference or in a separate UKAIS webinar event.

Requirements

  • Eligibility is restricted to applicants who have completed a PhD. The lead applicant must have completed their PhD within the past four years, and must include a copy of their PhD certificate as evidence.
  • The applicant(s) must all be based at a UK or Irish academic institution.
  • The early career researcher must be the lead applicant named on the grant application.
  • Projects must fall clearly within the IS field, and must demonstrate relevance to IS theory, practice, or societal concerns.
  • Proposals should be for defined research-only projects (not related to teaching, note there is a separate fund to support teaching activities), presented in 5-6 pages (double-spaced and 12pt. font), excluding diagrams and references, plus a short CV (a maximum of two pages) for the lead applicant and any co-investigators.
  • A sample outline for a proposal would be:
    • Project title
    • Project team names, emails, and affiliations
    • Project description and objectives, with a clearly defined explanation of the use of funds
    • Methodology/approach to the research (including viable alternatives/backups)
    • Project plan/timeline of activities, including deliverables
    • Contribution of the research outcomes to the wider IS field
    • Budget breakdown
  • All publications resulting from this funded research must include one of the following recognition citations: “This research was funded in part by the United Kingdom Academy for Information Systems (UKAIS)” or “This research was wholly funded by the United Kingdom Academy for Information Systems (UKAIS).”
  • The proposal includes a clear statement about how the grant will be used for research activities (i.e., not for use to attend conferences, including UKAIS).
  • Projects can be up to 12 months in duration (but can be extended if there are relevant extenuating circumstances).
  • The proposal includes a clear timeline and plan for the proposed activities including milestones and deliverables.
  • All the applicants named on the grant application must be a UKAIS member.

Selection Criteria

  • The proposal identifies clear contributions to practice and current debates that are relevant for society and the UKAIS community.
  • The proposal provides benchmarks for progress and specifies at least one clear deliverable.
  • Proposals should not normally include a team member drawn from the UKAIS board.
  • Priority will be given to proposals that show benefit broadly or have applicability across the whole UKAIS community relative to those targeted to a narrower audience.
  • Should no proposal rise above an acceptable threshold for funding, the committee is not obligated to recommend any projects for that funding cycle.

The committee will provide feedback regarding the selection decision.

Submissions

  • Submission deadline: 01 June 2026
  • Award announcement: 31 July 2026
  • Proposals should be submitted by email for the attention of Dr Oliver Kayas at contactus@ukais.org.
  • Please mark the email subject line as: UKAIS early career researcher grant proposal 2026.
  • Please attach a single file named as: [PI last name] UKAIS grant proposal 2026. This single file should also include a copy of your PhD certificate.
  • Submissions should be made as a single .pdf or .docx document.
  • For information or to ask any questions, please contact Dr Oliver Kayas at contactus@ukais.org.